The Art of Kissing
by ivy-queen
Summary: After hearing a conversation between Ino and Sakura, Sai becomes curious about the idea of kissing. As a result, his team mates find themselves in very awkward situations.


**Summary:** After hearing a conversation between Ino and Sakura, Sai becomes curious about the idea of kissing. As a result, his team mates find themselves in very awkward situations.

**Rating:** T

**Warning:** slight shounen-ai, possible OOCness and a very clueless Sai.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine and never will be.

**A/N:** This plot bunny just refused to leave me alone. So I apologize in advance for any mental-scarring.

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**The Art of Kissing**

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"It was _so_ lovely! You would have been surprised at how gentlemanly he was acting, Sakura." Fingers absently tucked back a few stray strands and pale-blue eyes twinkled as Ino gushed, "Of course, the best bit was the _amazing _good night kiss. Who would have thought that Shikamaru could do so much with his tongue?"

Looking a bit green, the pink-haired Jounin cried out, "Yeah, yeah! I got it already. Please do me a favour and spare my poor ears,"

A bemused smile in place, Sai listened to the friends' conversation. Even after almost two years of hanging around with the young ninjas of Konoha as part of Team Seven, the interaction between Sakura and Ino still confused him. Whenever he asked Sakura about their relationship, she would smile brightly and give the same answer, "We're friends." Yet, both Chuunins never failed to argue or insult each other at every meeting. This contradicted the explanations given about friendship in the numerous books he read.

_Maybe this is the modern type of companionship_, he wondered as he listened to Ino's indignant reply.

"You are just jealous, big forehead girl," she said with a smug smile. Sai felt his team mate stiffen next to him. Casting a sideways glance at the girl beside him, he shifted away from her subtly when he saw the thunderous look on Sakura's face. "You wish, Ino-pig! Just because you went on one stupid date-."

"A date that involved a _lot_ of kissing," smirked the blonde.

Sai's ears perked up. _What's so important about this 'kissing'?_

Rolling her eyes exasperatedly, Sakura huffed, "OK, a date that involved a lot of kissing! Still, I'm not feeling any jealousy whatsoever. After all, I'd rather kiss Pakkun than Shikamaru. So, it's not a big deal for me,"

"Come on, Sakura. There's nothing wrong with admitting that you are green with envy right now. I can completely sympathise with you," whispered Ino, a malicious gleam in her blue eyes. "After all, the furthest you've gotten with Lee is just holding hands,"

By that time, Sai could practically see the smoke coming out of Sakura's ears. "Here's the money. Thank you for the flowers, Ino-pig," hissed Sakura as she banged some money on the counter and rushed out of the flower shop, Ino's gleeful laughter floating after her. Warily, Sai followed his fuming friend at a safe distance in silence. However, the silence did not last for long as his curiosity got the better of him.

"Sakura…" he started hesitantly, and held back a sigh of relief when the Chuunin turned to him with a questioning smile. "…er – don't get mad at me, but what exactly is this…kissing?"

For a long moment, his female team-mate stared at him blankly. Thinking that she must have not heard him properly, Sai opened his mouth to repeat the question and snapped it shut immediately when Sakura started to giggle. What started out as a small giggle soon developed into full fledged laughter, with tears streaming down her face while Sakura doubled over gasping for breath. Sai could only gape in surprise.

After another few minutes of hilarity, Sakura straightened up and wiped away the tears. Looking a bit sheepish, she said, "Sorry about that, Sai. You just took me by surprise," Still giggling slightly, the pink-haired girl patted a hand on his shoulder and asked, "You've never heard of kissing?"

Sai shook his head, a tinge of pink appearing on his cheeks.

All of a sudden, Sakura looked a bit uncomfortable. She averted her gaze from him while fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "I'm not sure I'm the right person to tell you about it. Like Ino said, I've never done it,"

"But you know what it is, right?" Sai asked hopefully.

Green eyes looked up. "Yeah," she sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything you know," he replied quickly, curiosity brimming behind his dark eyes.

Sakura stared at him a bit longer and then sighed again. "Fine, fine. Well, you see…kissing is something you do when you like someone," She bit her lip, brows furrowing in thought. "It's a way of making the other person aware of your affection, I guess. If you kiss someone that means that you have a bond with them – or something along those lines. People don't go around kissing strangers,"

"I think I understand," Sai smiled, nodding his head slightly. "Well then, how is it done?"

Blushing, Sakura cleared her throat a few times. "Well, you just have to touch your lips to the person you like," she mumbled looking flustered. "If you are friends, you would usually kiss on the cheek. But if you like some one a bit more, you would kiss on the lips,"

Sai nodded thoughtfully. "I see, touching lips together,"

"Yeah, but only if you know the person well and like the person a lot," muttered Sakura, face now resembling a ripe tomato.

"And then, what do you do with your tongue?" Sai asked, suddenly remembering Ino's words.

Sakura blanched visibly and said in a very small voice, "You stick it in the other's mouth, I guess. But that's a whole new level, you only do that when you know each other very well," Then she cleared her throat and spoke in a normal tone. "Look Sai, as I said before, I don't know much about kissing either. So, you'll have to ask Ino or try it out with someone you are very comfortable with. Is that enough information for you?"

When the dark-haired Anbu nodded, Sakura exhaled loudly. "Geez, Sai. You sure know how to make people uncomfortable. Anyway, I think I need to go and rest my abused brain now. See you later," With a quick wave; the Chuunin started jogging away in the direction of her house leaving Sai deep in thought.

"Try it out with someone I'm comfortable with, huh?" he murmured to himself. A grinning face flashed through his mind and he quickly set off in search of the one person who could provide him with first-hand experience. After all, there was no better way to learn everything about kissing than some real experience.

* * *

With a quiet hiss, a kunai flew through the air and embedded in the center of the target. Biting back another yawn, Uzumaki Naruto lounged on a thick branch as he waited for his training partner to arrive. Uncharacteristically, his friend was late and Naruto was never the one to be patient. Besides, hunger was rearing its head as his stomach grumbled in protest. Glancing down at the path that led to the village, he decided to head over to Ichiraku's if his sparring partner did not show up in the next minute. Annoyed, he threw another kunai at the target.

"Naruto,"

The blonde yelped as he nearly tumbled off the branch in surprise. Glancing up, he caught sight of the latecomer, who was perched comfortably on the branch above him. "Are you trying to kill me, you idiot?" he yelled hoarsely, heart still hammering loudly in his ears.

Sai jumped down gracefully onto the branch he was hugging, an amused smirk etched across his face. "You should have sensed me approach,"

Naruto glared in response and decided to change the subject. "Where the heck were you? You were supposed to meet me here fifteen minutes ago," he snapped, his irritation obvious on his face. "Now, I'm too hungry to train,"

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I was with Sakura, discussing something very important," said Sai, lips tilting up in an apologetic smile. "As a matter of fact, I would like to discuss it with you too,"

His momentary irritation disappeared as his curiosity peaked. "Fine, as long as you buy me ramen afterwards," he muttered, leaning his back against the tree trunk and stretching out his legs. "What's so important?"

"Kissing," came the straight-forward answer.

"Eh?" For the second time that day, the blonde almost toppled off the branch in his shock. Fortunately for him, Sai calmly reached over and grabbed his jacket, pulling him up against the dark-haired teen. Unfortunately for Naruto, his friend's last remark had flustered him a bit too much and the close contact was not helping matters much.

"For a capable Chuunin, you sure are extremely clumsy," whispered Sai, his breath hot against Naruto's ear.

The Chuunin scrunched up his face and mentally willed the hot blush to disappear from his face. Fixing an indignant frown on his face, he quickly scurried away from Sai and leapt off of the branch. "Jerk, why are always so direct about stuff like that?" he yelled from the ground, shaking a fist at Sai who was still perched on the branch.

"I like unnerving you," Sai replied coolly and then landed in front of Naruto, once again a bit too close for comfort. "Besides, is there something wrong with kissing?" he asked innocently.

Naruto rolled his eyes, shifting away from the other boy. "H-how should I know? And what do you mean by 'unnerving' me? Who said I am?" he said, puffing his chest out.

Raising an eyebrow lazily, Sai kept moving towards him. Stiffening with anger, Naruto decided to stand his ground. There was no way he was going to back away from the challenge in the dark eyes. That strange, almost predatory look in Sai's eyes did not scare him one bit. He was a killing machine and nobody would be able to unnerve him – not one bit. Well, there was also the fact that he had managed to back away into the tree somehow. Blue eyes darted around nervously, calculating the best form of attack in order to escape. However, the courageous plan halted in its tracks as two hands placed themselves against the tree on either side of Naruto's head.

"So, does this mean you wouldn't mind?" smirked Sai, tilting his head to the side.

"What the heck are you talking about, Sai?" demanded the blonde, feeling confused and very uncomfortable. Even after hanging around with the dark-haired Anbu for two years, Naruto still found him to be one of the most annoying people in the world on some occasions. "Can we go eat now? I'm starving, thanks to you,"

"I will treat you to ramen if we could engage in some kissing first," stated Sai, a relaxed look on his face as if he was merely asking about the weather.

Blue eyes widened as Naruto stared at the boy in front of him in disbelief. Were his ears not working properly or had Sai completely lost his mind? The serious look on Sai's face confirmed it. The dark-haired teen was lacking his sanity. "Engage in k-kissing?" he repeated in a daze.

"Yes, Sakura told me that everything will be cleared up as soon as I experience it with someone," smiled Sai.

Without any warning Sai suddenly leaned towards his face. Naruto stared blankly until their noses bumped. Flinching, he raised a hand to his abused nose and squinted at the confused look on Sai's face. "Just what exactly are you trying to do?" An amused grin crossed his features as realisation dawned on him. A chuckle escaped his throat when Sai raised his eyes to meet his. "You have no clue, do you?"

The roles were reversed now. Sai's confidence was replaced with hesitancy as he fidgeted around. Naruto grinned widely, taking in the pink tinge that had appeared across his team mate's cheeks.

"You make it sound like you know a lot," the dark-haired teen muttered shrewdly.

Crossing both arms across his chest, the blonde leaned back against the tree and watched the blush deepen on Sai's face. "Well, I do know more than you," he stated smugly. At startled look on the other boy's face, Naruto shrugged and said, "Hey, I was trained by that perverted hermit for nearly three years. So, it's not that surprising, is it? He used to force me to read those stupid books he writes. He kept saying that every hot-blooded male needed to have a good education. Che!"

Sai's only response was a blank stare.

"What? Look, don't get any strange ideas. I'm not a pervert like that perverted hermit," insisted Naruto, running a hand through his hair. "But Sai, you seriously are a clueless idiot, aren't you? I think almost everyone knows how to kiss,"

To the blonde's surprise, Sai grabbed his arms and asked with an eager look on his face, "Have _you_ kissed anyone?"

"You know that I haven't, Sai. It's not like Sakura-chan ever gave me a chance, anyway," muttered Naruto, shrugging Sai's hands off of his arms. "I've just read about it, _against_ my will,"

Dark eyes probed blue ones. "Well, haven't you ever been curious about it?"

Raising his eyes heavenwards, the young Chuunin sighed exasperatedly. "For god's sake, what's _with_ you today?" The conversation was getting too strange for comfort, and that predatory look had returned to the other teen's eyes.

"I want to know more about it," insisted Sai. "So, can you teach me how to do it?"

Blue eyes narrowed and Naruto shook his head stubbornly. "No way. It's not something a man can teach another man. You need to ask one of the girls,"

"But Sakura said that I should try it with someone I'm very comfortable with…and that's only you," By that time, Sai was practically whining. Naruto decided that things could not get any stranger.

Exhaling loudly, the blonde frowned up at his crazy friend. "If you are trying to win me over with flattery, just give up on that. Anyway, aren't you comfortable enough with Sakura-chan? Why didn't you ask her for a demonstration?"

"I don't feel like kissing her," Sai said immediately. Naruto gaped at the directness of the answer. "So, you are saying that you'd rather kiss me than Sakura?" he asked incredulously. His jaw fell open again when Sai nodded calmly.

"Please, Naruto?" pleaded Sai, looking very much like a puppy. Naruto gazed at him for a long moment before sighing again. _Well, it's not like I haven't done this before_, he wondered as he thought back to the incident with Sasuke, _I guess it can't be that bad if I picture a girl while doing it._

"All right, I guess I'll teach you. But only once – and don't you dare tell anyone," he quickly said before Sai got any other outrageous ideas. Looking extremely happy, the dark-haired boy nodded in agreement. The blonde Chuunin searched the area carefully before turning back to the smiling Anbu and mumbled, "OK…er, first of all, you need to kind of tilt your head,"

As he talked, Naruto tilted his head as well. Unfortunately, Sai seemed to think that he had to copy Naruto's every move. "You idiot, don't tilt it to the same side as me. That's how we'll end up bumping noses again," Naruto yelled.

"Sorry," whispered Sai before tilting his head to the other side and smiling sheepishly.

"Right, now just lean in towards me and…er – press your lips against mine, I guess," Naruto finished weakly when Sai started to inch towards him, looking into his eyes intensely the whole time. "And close your eyes, you creep,"

Closing his eyes tightly, the blonde tried desperately to picture the face of his former crush. However, as soon as Sakura's face popped into his mind, Lee's face squeezed in as well. Shuddering, he quickly cast away the disturbing image. Before he could summon the image of any other girls, he felt a gentle pressure on his lips. All thoughts of the girls fled from his mind as Sai pressed his lips against Naruto's almost shyly. Only one thought crossed his startled brain, _Sai has soft lips_, before it decided to shut down completely at the intimate touch.

When Naruto didn't move a muscle Sai cracked open an eye to see whether he was on the right track. The content look on the blonde's face encouraged him. Experimentally, he pressed his lips tighter against the other boy's slightly chapped ones and mentally patted himself when Naruto sighed into the kiss. The blonde trailed one hand up into his hair and pulled him even closer. In the midst of enjoying the increasing pressure, Sai suddenly remembered Ino's remark about Shikamaru and his talented tongue. Curiously he nipped at Naruto's lower lip and smiled in triumph when the other gasped against his mouth, opening his lips slightly. Taking advantage of the situation, he flicked his tongue into the other's open mouth and shivered deliciously at the warmth inside. Unfortunately, this seemed to snap Naruto out of his blissful daze.

"Eeerk! What are you doing?" Naruto yelped as he jumped away from the Anbu. Now that the kiss was broken, the blonde felt a heated blush creeping up his face. Looking a bit dazed, Sai brought a hand to his moist lips and muttered, "Did I do it wrong?"

At the slightly hurt look on Sai's face, the blonde shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just surprised, that's all. I didn't expect you to stick your tongue inside my mouth. That's a whole new level of kissing, Sai,"

Sai nodded his head, still looking a bit disappointed. "I think I like kissing a lot," he whispered, shooting a pleased smile at Naruto.

Naruto wondered if it was possible for his face to explode from the heat. "Y-yeah, I guess it wasn't too bad," he admitted casually while his mind demanded for the intimate touch again. To be truthful, the blonde had liked kissing Sai a bit too much. He felt relieved that he had broken the kiss when he had. Otherwise, he might have remained attached to Sai's rather supple lips forever. It certainly couldn't be healthy to enjoy kissing Sai that much, could it? After all, they were both boys.

However, Sai did not seem to think this was a problem as he asked, "Can we use tongue next time? I want to try that too,"

That day, neither of the boys showed up at 'Ichiraku's Ramen'.

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A/N: So, how was it? Feel like killing me yet?**


End file.
